Friday, January 23, 2009
"I do it myself!"
I'm not sure when my younger sister Katie started saying that, but I remember it being one of her most frequent sayings. She also apparently said, "You're not the mom!" Quite frequently as well only I seemed to have ignored that one and not remembered it. I was a very stereotypical extremely bossy older sister. Recently Caleb started saying "self" quite often. Just now I was almost banned from the kitchen by my toddler as he took control of grating the cheese. Yes, I know he could hurt himself with the cheese grater, but he really likes to help. Only now it has turned from helping to pushing mom away and doing it "self." I also neglected to keep the egg out of his reach and he knows how to crack them on the counter and break them into the bowl. Only he doesn't know how to do it without getting the yoke everywhere. I didn't catch it quite in time and he is now running around without a shirt on but clean hands.
Andy's job
Just for the record, Andy is really grateful for his job. He works for a great firm that give him lots of opportunities to learn new aspects of being a lawyer. In fact, he's been able to do things in the first few months of work that a lot of first year associates don't get the opportunity to do for a while. It's just that sometimes those opportunities are stressful--being new, still learning, etc. And so it's no surprise that he needs to call his dad every once in a while and get some reassurance. :)
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Mike
I decided I'm going to start praying for Andy's Dad, Mike, to have a long and healthy life. Today Andy came home distressed about work and I can never say anything right at these times. He asked if he could call his dad and I happily said sure. He did and talked for well over an hour and felt infinitely better. When he hung up he told me how much he liked his job and how great everything was. Thank you Mike. May you live long and stay "aspeirta." I don't know the correct translation or spelling of the portuguese word, but it basically means quick of mind.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Thursday
Another Thursday. These entries are more like journal and family history entries for the Hyer side of the family. So feel free to read or not to read.
Today wasn't quite as exciting for Grandma as last week was, but it was productive. Today we worked on cleaning things out. We went through Grandma's closet and I would hold a shirt, skirt, whatever up so she could see it (I really don't' know how well she sees) and she would tell me whether to give it away or keep it. Grandma is pretty fashion conscious and if you tell her something is classy, flattering, or in style, she will go for it. I probably should have told her more things were out of date to clear more out, but I figured since there was room, let her hang on to things she likes. There were a couple where I drew the line and when at first she said she liked it and wanted to keep it and then I told her it was out of style, she promptly told me to give it away. (These were early nineties sunflower print shirt and flowery jumper...even at age 85 when you can do what you want, there are better options.) We did clear out quite a pile. Most of it was stuff that is now too big for her since she has lost weight in the last few years. We also went through drawers and some other things. We found sweatshirts from San Fransisco and other tourist type shirts and a nice sweatshirt from Utah State that I think she should wear more often since she is quite a proud alumnus.
After all that, she was tired and we went back downstairs. I was hoping she'd take a nap, but she has a hard time sleeping when Caleb and I are doing something. And we were doing something. When I told Caleb this morning that we were going to Grandma's he said, "basement." As Andy's siblings can probably remember, Grandma's basement is full of interesting things and quite the place for a little guy to explore. Caleb loves going down there. I haven't started organizing it yet and today was the day we were going to start. Last summer Mike gave his mother a present--a new bathroom. Grandma fussed over it and griped and said she had no control over her house and wouldn't stand to have anything in the house changed, etc., etc. Until finally something Mike said stuck with her and it's been her way of agreeing to it ever since. Mike told his mother that he was sick of waiting in line for the bathroom when he came to visit so he was adding another one onto the house. So now whenever you talk to Grandma about the new addition she says it was for Mike so he could have a bathroom when he came to stay. Well, when they added the addition (which, by the way, turned out wonderfully well and looks very nice with the house) they had to put in wires and pipes in the basement walls that were covered in shelves and 50 years worth of stuff. Something like the night before the construction guy was supposed to come Janell called a couple young women over to help and they just moved the stuff as best they could. Which meant piling it as nicely as possible away from the walls where the men needed to work. In short it's quite a project to reorganize. I actually haven't had the courage to start it until now. I had Andy go down there with me and give me pointers on how to proceed and now I feel like I can. Today we (I say we because Caleb was with me) cleared off a table of stuff including enough candles to light a medieval castle and a bunch of old drawings. Looks like Grandma won second place in an adult art contest back in 1994. When I told her about that she was pretty happy and said she wanted to see it again. There is also enough curling ribbon for Caleb's children to inherit. Well, maybe not quite that much, but I really hope they don't buy curling ribbon for a very, very long time.
Today's reminiscing story from Grandma are a couple about her husband Herold who passed away several years ago. Herold was a putterer and very handy. His work is all over the house and especially in the basement. When I told Grandma I was going to put his workbench back together she told me of how much he liked to work down there. Only he liked to work alone. She said if she had a sewing project, that was fine, but if she was just watching, he'd always say, "Don't you have something you need to do upstairs?" :) That made me smile because Andy, and I think Mike, are both a little this way too.
Grandma also told me about a painting Andy did for them when he was in school. I think he was in seventh grade. Grandma loves the painting and I must say that I unbiasedly think it's pretty good. For those of you who know me well, you know I could easily say it wasn't that good if I didn't think so no matter who I was talking about--so trust me, for a seventh grader it's pretty darn good! Well, they were so proud of that picture when Andy gave it to them that Fern (Grandma) and Herold went down to the store where you get things framed and she said Herold and the guy there took so long deciding on how to frame it that she finally got impatient and told them they had 15 more minutes to decide and she was done. The painting has hung in their family room ever since.
One more story. I asked Grandma what it was like growing up in the depression (she was born in 1923) and the only thing she said was that they were very frugal and you didn't waste food. If you didn't finish what was on your plate you put it away for later or gave it to someone else. She also remembers going to her oldest sister, Nell's house and cleaning it after school while Nell worked. She really liked her sister Nell.
Well, that's it for now. I think I'll go see if I can get a little bit more done in the basement...
Today wasn't quite as exciting for Grandma as last week was, but it was productive. Today we worked on cleaning things out. We went through Grandma's closet and I would hold a shirt, skirt, whatever up so she could see it (I really don't' know how well she sees) and she would tell me whether to give it away or keep it. Grandma is pretty fashion conscious and if you tell her something is classy, flattering, or in style, she will go for it. I probably should have told her more things were out of date to clear more out, but I figured since there was room, let her hang on to things she likes. There were a couple where I drew the line and when at first she said she liked it and wanted to keep it and then I told her it was out of style, she promptly told me to give it away. (These were early nineties sunflower print shirt and flowery jumper...even at age 85 when you can do what you want, there are better options.) We did clear out quite a pile. Most of it was stuff that is now too big for her since she has lost weight in the last few years. We also went through drawers and some other things. We found sweatshirts from San Fransisco and other tourist type shirts and a nice sweatshirt from Utah State that I think she should wear more often since she is quite a proud alumnus.
After all that, she was tired and we went back downstairs. I was hoping she'd take a nap, but she has a hard time sleeping when Caleb and I are doing something. And we were doing something. When I told Caleb this morning that we were going to Grandma's he said, "basement." As Andy's siblings can probably remember, Grandma's basement is full of interesting things and quite the place for a little guy to explore. Caleb loves going down there. I haven't started organizing it yet and today was the day we were going to start. Last summer Mike gave his mother a present--a new bathroom. Grandma fussed over it and griped and said she had no control over her house and wouldn't stand to have anything in the house changed, etc., etc. Until finally something Mike said stuck with her and it's been her way of agreeing to it ever since. Mike told his mother that he was sick of waiting in line for the bathroom when he came to visit so he was adding another one onto the house. So now whenever you talk to Grandma about the new addition she says it was for Mike so he could have a bathroom when he came to stay. Well, when they added the addition (which, by the way, turned out wonderfully well and looks very nice with the house) they had to put in wires and pipes in the basement walls that were covered in shelves and 50 years worth of stuff. Something like the night before the construction guy was supposed to come Janell called a couple young women over to help and they just moved the stuff as best they could. Which meant piling it as nicely as possible away from the walls where the men needed to work. In short it's quite a project to reorganize. I actually haven't had the courage to start it until now. I had Andy go down there with me and give me pointers on how to proceed and now I feel like I can. Today we (I say we because Caleb was with me) cleared off a table of stuff including enough candles to light a medieval castle and a bunch of old drawings. Looks like Grandma won second place in an adult art contest back in 1994. When I told her about that she was pretty happy and said she wanted to see it again. There is also enough curling ribbon for Caleb's children to inherit. Well, maybe not quite that much, but I really hope they don't buy curling ribbon for a very, very long time.
Today's reminiscing story from Grandma are a couple about her husband Herold who passed away several years ago. Herold was a putterer and very handy. His work is all over the house and especially in the basement. When I told Grandma I was going to put his workbench back together she told me of how much he liked to work down there. Only he liked to work alone. She said if she had a sewing project, that was fine, but if she was just watching, he'd always say, "Don't you have something you need to do upstairs?" :) That made me smile because Andy, and I think Mike, are both a little this way too.
Grandma also told me about a painting Andy did for them when he was in school. I think he was in seventh grade. Grandma loves the painting and I must say that I unbiasedly think it's pretty good. For those of you who know me well, you know I could easily say it wasn't that good if I didn't think so no matter who I was talking about--so trust me, for a seventh grader it's pretty darn good! Well, they were so proud of that picture when Andy gave it to them that Fern (Grandma) and Herold went down to the store where you get things framed and she said Herold and the guy there took so long deciding on how to frame it that she finally got impatient and told them they had 15 more minutes to decide and she was done. The painting has hung in their family room ever since.
One more story. I asked Grandma what it was like growing up in the depression (she was born in 1923) and the only thing she said was that they were very frugal and you didn't waste food. If you didn't finish what was on your plate you put it away for later or gave it to someone else. She also remembers going to her oldest sister, Nell's house and cleaning it after school while Nell worked. She really liked her sister Nell.
Well, that's it for now. I think I'll go see if I can get a little bit more done in the basement...
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Washing the Dishes
I'm taking a moment to write this while Caleb "washes the dishes." He was finishing up his dinner--i.e. he was playing with and drinking his milk with a bit of chocolate in it with his dinner untouched, and I was loading the dishwasher. He said, "me wash dishes" or something like that. I know I'm wasting resources as I let a small drizzle of water run as he plays with a dirty pot, lid and spoon in the sink, but he is having such a good time. He won't let me help so I have to think of something equally as fun to distract him...
Monday, January 12, 2009
This Thing
Caleb's most common phrase is now, "this thing." Today I was cutting apples for lunch (since Caleb will now eat apples if they come with dip) and the little round apple cutter I have was dirty so I used a knife. Caleb wouldn't stand for it and I had to wash the apple cutter and cut the apple with the apple cutter. Then this evening I was making apple crisp (I bought bunch of apples a while back when Andy was on an apple kick and then he went off the apple kick and we still have a lot of apples that need to be used) and I was just going to use a knife to cut the apples. Caleb started crying he was so upset and opened the dishwasher saying, "this thing," in a very upset voice as he pulled out the apple cutter.
There is a way that must be followed for many tasks and activities in this house. What's going to happen in 8 weeks?
There is a way that must be followed for many tasks and activities in this house. What's going to happen in 8 weeks?
Today's Highlight
Perhaps the highlight of the week.
Last night we went to Nampa to stay with Grandma while Janell went to a party for one of her old mutual girls. We ended up staying pretty late and by the time we got home parents were tired and Caleb was asleep. Andy went in to unlock the apt door and I carried Caleb into the house. I carefully locked the car doors (without my key) but left the diaper bag thinking I'd come back for it. I was so tired I completely forgot. This morning Caleb was kind enough to sleep in and it was wonderful. We were lazily getting dressed and eating breakfast when I thought I could call Caleb's friend, Jasper. That was when I realized that phone, keys, shoes, coat, and stroller were all locked in the car.
I emailed Andy and asked if we could ride the bus down to his work and I could get his copy of the Subaru key. When I told Caleb we were going to ride the bus he was thrilled and was running around getting my shoes and chattering about the bus. I changed from my sweats into something presentable and we rushed out the door without shoes. I barely caught the bus but Caleb was ecstatic to sit in the seat and hold my hand while he watched the driver and looked out the window. We are very fortunate to live right by a bus stop that takes you downtown. On the bus I remembered that Caleb does have a pair of boots I could have put him in, but too late, he was riding in socks. Everyting is super cool to a toddler: bus, driver, noises, big revolving doors, elevators that beep and even announce the floor you're on and especially, seeing Daddy at work. Andy's office has big windows where you can see things going on below downtown. Caleb watched out the window for quite some time and then we had to say goodbye. Caleb was very distressed to leave Daddy, but was excited to be someplace new. I carried him around on my shoulders and we strolled around a bit in the half hour we had before the next bus came.
I have now unlocked the car and Caleb is sleeping peacefully in his stroller with his shoes on. :)
Last night we went to Nampa to stay with Grandma while Janell went to a party for one of her old mutual girls. We ended up staying pretty late and by the time we got home parents were tired and Caleb was asleep. Andy went in to unlock the apt door and I carried Caleb into the house. I carefully locked the car doors (without my key) but left the diaper bag thinking I'd come back for it. I was so tired I completely forgot. This morning Caleb was kind enough to sleep in and it was wonderful. We were lazily getting dressed and eating breakfast when I thought I could call Caleb's friend, Jasper. That was when I realized that phone, keys, shoes, coat, and stroller were all locked in the car.
I emailed Andy and asked if we could ride the bus down to his work and I could get his copy of the Subaru key. When I told Caleb we were going to ride the bus he was thrilled and was running around getting my shoes and chattering about the bus. I changed from my sweats into something presentable and we rushed out the door without shoes. I barely caught the bus but Caleb was ecstatic to sit in the seat and hold my hand while he watched the driver and looked out the window. We are very fortunate to live right by a bus stop that takes you downtown. On the bus I remembered that Caleb does have a pair of boots I could have put him in, but too late, he was riding in socks. Everyting is super cool to a toddler: bus, driver, noises, big revolving doors, elevators that beep and even announce the floor you're on and especially, seeing Daddy at work. Andy's office has big windows where you can see things going on below downtown. Caleb watched out the window for quite some time and then we had to say goodbye. Caleb was very distressed to leave Daddy, but was excited to be someplace new. I carried him around on my shoulders and we strolled around a bit in the half hour we had before the next bus came.
I have now unlocked the car and Caleb is sleeping peacefully in his stroller with his shoes on. :)
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Grandma Hyer
Every Thursday that we're in town, Caleb and I head to Nampa and spend the day with Grandma. Grandma Hyer is Andy's dad's mom. Caleb calls her Grandma. Perhaps someday it will be Grandma Hyer, but for now it is just Grandma. Andy's mom is Grandma Evie, my mom is Grammy, and my Grammy is Great-Grammy. I think he knows them all now.
Since today was Thursday we headed over to Grandma's. We're usually late since Caleb and I are currently not early risers. I try to get there before Grandma gets out of bed but we don't always make it. Today, however, when we got there at ten we had to wake Grandma up. She was really out of it this morning but was so happy when I put Caleb up on her bed and she saw him. The fact that she was still in bed was a bad sign and it's amazing how big of a difference Caleb makes in her mood. I was nervous for the day but today turned out to be my very favorite day with Grandma that I can remember so I wanted to record it.
Waking up to Caleb just made her happy and she got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. During breakfast we talked about going to the medical clinic, no, I told her that she was going to the medical clinic and she declared she wasn't going. I called Janell, her daughter that lives with her, at work, hoping she could convince her. No luck. Janell suggested I go for a drive and while we're at it just go to the medical center. So we let it rest and she asked if I was going to take down the Christmas tree. The tree has been up partly because no one has had the time to take it down and partly because Janell has enjoyed it and wanted it up a little longer this year. Grandma wanted Christmas down on the 26th and has been saying so. Janell and I took everything but the tree down last week, but today Caleb and I took down the tree. You should have seen the happy look on her face as we packed it away. She thanked me over and over. I often do things around the house and usually she just tells me to stop working but today she was so happy she thanked and thanked me. I was so amazed. Seeing how happy it was making her to take down the tree I decided to finish before going on our little drive.
After hauling the tree to the shed, we got ready for a trip to Boise. I told her she could go see our apartment since she's never been there and she was really excited. I suppose it wasn't very nice to go to the medical center. I told her that since we were in the car we would just stop by the medical center and then go on to Boise. I really had planned on taking her on an outing today and I thought that coming to Boise to see our apt would be fun. She so enjoyed our trip to the zoo in October, we needed another fun outing. However, she really did not want to go to the medical center. All she had to do was get a urine test--essentially pee in a cup. But she didn't want to. She told me I was very stubborn and I agreed. She said she could be more stubborn than me and she was not getting out of the car. I called Janell again as we sat parked in front of the medical center. Grandma had a hard time hearing in the cell phone so Janell said that her whole office knew her mother needed to get a urine test done since she was yelling into the phone. We eventually got Grandma to agree and had quite the adventure at the medical center. Grandma told me I was not allowed to tell anyone any details since those things are private. However, I will say that Caleb had a grand time riding on her lap in the wheel chair, pushing buttons on the elevator, and generally playing around. Grandma and I had a good laugh (though she won't admit that she found it at all enjoyable) about the whole ordeal. The only other thing I will say is that Grandma had to drink a ton of water and I said a prayer so that she could go pee and hit the cup. She said that's the first time she's ever heard a prayer like that. It was answered and the mission was accomplished. :)
Very happy to be done we headed to Boise on the back roads, Grandma's preferred route. She loved driving through the farm land and looking at the clouds. It was Caleb's naptime and he fell asleep. When we got to our apt it was 2:00 and we hadn't had lunch yet. Grandma wanted Andy to be the one to show her around the apartment and didn't want to disturb Caleb, so I ran inside and made some sandwiches and we took our "picnic" up the mountain. We just drove up Bogus Basin Road and looked at the scenery. Although we didn't make it all the way to the ski resort, we did get up into the snow and pine trees. Grandma loved looking at the sky and all the scenery. The sky was pretty spectacular--light shining on and through the clouds of a myriad of shapes and colors. She kept saying how pretty everything was and how much she enjoyed our ride. And how ready she was for her own nap. Unfortunately she didn't get a nap and was very tired by the time Janell got home from work and Caleb and I left. She thanked me again for such a wonderful day before I left and I cannot tell you how good that made me feel. It's not often that I make Grandma's day or do anything that seems to really make her happy so it was the most wonderful feeling in the world to see how happy she was. I hope we can take more outings in the future.
While I'm writing about Grandma I wanted to recored some stories she always tells. They may be recored elsewhere, but I'll do my own version. Grandma has often told me of how she and her family moved from Mexico to El Paso when she was about five years old. She spoke mostly Spanish and said her parents didn't realize how little English she spoke. She was used to speaking a mix of the two languages and having that be normal. Since they moved in the middle of the school year, on her first day of school she was asked to get up and tell a bit about herself. She did so in a mix of Spanish and English and was terribly embarrassed when everyone thought it was really funny to hear her talk. When the kids were released for recess, she headed for home and told her mother she was not going back to that gringo school! Her mother took her hand and said, "Oh, yes you are!" and marched her right back. She recalls with great fondness her first grade teacher who took extra time to teach her how to read, taking time, patience, and care with her so that she caught up to her English speaking classmates. She says that teachers aren't often like that anymore and she will be forever grateful for that teacher.
I'll have to get more stories from her and post them occasionally. She's always telling me about when she and Herold moved to Boise or about times in Star Valley or about her family growing up during the depression. She's lived an interesting life and is an interesting lady.
Since today was Thursday we headed over to Grandma's. We're usually late since Caleb and I are currently not early risers. I try to get there before Grandma gets out of bed but we don't always make it. Today, however, when we got there at ten we had to wake Grandma up. She was really out of it this morning but was so happy when I put Caleb up on her bed and she saw him. The fact that she was still in bed was a bad sign and it's amazing how big of a difference Caleb makes in her mood. I was nervous for the day but today turned out to be my very favorite day with Grandma that I can remember so I wanted to record it.
Waking up to Caleb just made her happy and she got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. During breakfast we talked about going to the medical clinic, no, I told her that she was going to the medical clinic and she declared she wasn't going. I called Janell, her daughter that lives with her, at work, hoping she could convince her. No luck. Janell suggested I go for a drive and while we're at it just go to the medical center. So we let it rest and she asked if I was going to take down the Christmas tree. The tree has been up partly because no one has had the time to take it down and partly because Janell has enjoyed it and wanted it up a little longer this year. Grandma wanted Christmas down on the 26th and has been saying so. Janell and I took everything but the tree down last week, but today Caleb and I took down the tree. You should have seen the happy look on her face as we packed it away. She thanked me over and over. I often do things around the house and usually she just tells me to stop working but today she was so happy she thanked and thanked me. I was so amazed. Seeing how happy it was making her to take down the tree I decided to finish before going on our little drive.
After hauling the tree to the shed, we got ready for a trip to Boise. I told her she could go see our apartment since she's never been there and she was really excited. I suppose it wasn't very nice to go to the medical center. I told her that since we were in the car we would just stop by the medical center and then go on to Boise. I really had planned on taking her on an outing today and I thought that coming to Boise to see our apt would be fun. She so enjoyed our trip to the zoo in October, we needed another fun outing. However, she really did not want to go to the medical center. All she had to do was get a urine test--essentially pee in a cup. But she didn't want to. She told me I was very stubborn and I agreed. She said she could be more stubborn than me and she was not getting out of the car. I called Janell again as we sat parked in front of the medical center. Grandma had a hard time hearing in the cell phone so Janell said that her whole office knew her mother needed to get a urine test done since she was yelling into the phone. We eventually got Grandma to agree and had quite the adventure at the medical center. Grandma told me I was not allowed to tell anyone any details since those things are private. However, I will say that Caleb had a grand time riding on her lap in the wheel chair, pushing buttons on the elevator, and generally playing around. Grandma and I had a good laugh (though she won't admit that she found it at all enjoyable) about the whole ordeal. The only other thing I will say is that Grandma had to drink a ton of water and I said a prayer so that she could go pee and hit the cup. She said that's the first time she's ever heard a prayer like that. It was answered and the mission was accomplished. :)
Very happy to be done we headed to Boise on the back roads, Grandma's preferred route. She loved driving through the farm land and looking at the clouds. It was Caleb's naptime and he fell asleep. When we got to our apt it was 2:00 and we hadn't had lunch yet. Grandma wanted Andy to be the one to show her around the apartment and didn't want to disturb Caleb, so I ran inside and made some sandwiches and we took our "picnic" up the mountain. We just drove up Bogus Basin Road and looked at the scenery. Although we didn't make it all the way to the ski resort, we did get up into the snow and pine trees. Grandma loved looking at the sky and all the scenery. The sky was pretty spectacular--light shining on and through the clouds of a myriad of shapes and colors. She kept saying how pretty everything was and how much she enjoyed our ride. And how ready she was for her own nap. Unfortunately she didn't get a nap and was very tired by the time Janell got home from work and Caleb and I left. She thanked me again for such a wonderful day before I left and I cannot tell you how good that made me feel. It's not often that I make Grandma's day or do anything that seems to really make her happy so it was the most wonderful feeling in the world to see how happy she was. I hope we can take more outings in the future.
While I'm writing about Grandma I wanted to recored some stories she always tells. They may be recored elsewhere, but I'll do my own version. Grandma has often told me of how she and her family moved from Mexico to El Paso when she was about five years old. She spoke mostly Spanish and said her parents didn't realize how little English she spoke. She was used to speaking a mix of the two languages and having that be normal. Since they moved in the middle of the school year, on her first day of school she was asked to get up and tell a bit about herself. She did so in a mix of Spanish and English and was terribly embarrassed when everyone thought it was really funny to hear her talk. When the kids were released for recess, she headed for home and told her mother she was not going back to that gringo school! Her mother took her hand and said, "Oh, yes you are!" and marched her right back. She recalls with great fondness her first grade teacher who took extra time to teach her how to read, taking time, patience, and care with her so that she caught up to her English speaking classmates. She says that teachers aren't often like that anymore and she will be forever grateful for that teacher.
I'll have to get more stories from her and post them occasionally. She's always telling me about when she and Herold moved to Boise or about times in Star Valley or about her family growing up during the depression. She's lived an interesting life and is an interesting lady.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Aunt Marie
I failed to mention that we stopped at Andy's Aunt Marie's in Centerville Tuesday night. We had a really nice visit and Caleb enjoyed exploring all of her Christmas decorations.
Complaint
I'm going to whine a bit. I really like chocolate and other desserts. Caleb does too. However, I eat my meal while Caleb often does not. He never eats veggies and only occasionally fruits. He does get a descent amount of carbs, good fats, calcium, etc from his diet of peanut butter sandwiches, cheese, whole grain crackers, and chocolate milk (with very little chocolate....we're trying to be healthy). However, when and how do I eat my desserts--which, I know is selfish, but I'm just not willing to give up?! I either have to sneak them while he's not looking or eat them in front of him. It's a tough situation. Today I ate some chocolate chips before he finished his lunch. He saw me and wanted some immediately. I told him he had to eat his peanut butter and honey first. He actually did this time. Maybe we're all just going to have to be healthier...is that realistic? :)
8 to 9 weeks
I had a realization the other day. I'm going to have a baby in 8 or 9 weeks. I kept telling myself that I would get ready when I came back from Ephraim. By get ready I mean implement a plan to change Caleb's life and habits--especially those related to sleep. I've been home for almost a week and nothing's changed. If a week goes by that quickly what about 8 of them?!! Caleb still needs a stroller ride to take a nap. That was fine until there was a foot of snow and slush. It's even fine in the cold, it's just bringing all that grime into the apt. He also cries like crazy when I leave the room before he's asleep at night and Andy hasn't put him to be in ages. Oh, and his bedtime is really late. I'm not even going to say when he went to sleep last night...
I think we're ready with all the stuff we worried about for Caleb, but are we ready for the shock of a new baby to our family's routine? Yikes!
I think we're ready with all the stuff we worried about for Caleb, but are we ready for the shock of a new baby to our family's routine? Yikes!
Additional Pictures from Christmas 2008
Caleb insisted on clipping my toenails. He found the clippers somewhere and had me take off my socks so he could clip the toenails.Reading a story with Grandad.
My mom made Caleb a bug quilt. I need to take a picture of the quilt in it's entirety becuase it is really cool. She and her sister and my Grammy all made them a couple years ago and she's been waiting for a time to give it to Caleb when he will appreciate it. I actually made one for my friends' kids last Christmas. Of course, my corners didn't match up like my moms and the edge of hers is perfect and mine was definately handmade. :)
Grandad and Aunt Katie got excited to put the barn together. My sister loves toys, especially ones that make noise (she and Andy both) and was excited to make it work. Caleb is helping. As you can see he really likes the tractor and the trailer.
Christmas dinner. Caleb ate the roll. I'm not sure what else. My mom made the rolls and they were good! She also made some Christmas jam (cran-strawberry) and gave us a bottle for Christmas. Caleb LOVES it! He will cry, "Christmas jam!" so pitifully I need to get it on video. I think part of his love is that he knows Grammy made it and he loves Grammy and he loves Christmas. Oh and he's eating on a plate my parents gave him for Christmas--with matching silverware.
If you're wondering, my parents live in a beautiful old pioneer home that they have been working on insulating, etc. It is still cold in the house. My Grammy always wears multiple layers when coming to visit and my dad wears his house hat. :)
Grammy, Caleb and Aunt Katie by the heater in a cold house.
My dad flew Caleb around on this little chair that was made by my great-great-grandfather (did I get it right?)
Crazy hair in the morning. The other day Andy told me he thought we should cut Caleb's hair so it doesn't stick up so much in the back. I think maybe I should just buy some gel.
Playing with Grandad. Yes his shirt tails are haning out. I'm not sure why it's so dark, but I decided to post it anyway.Monday, January 5, 2009
Christmas 2008
I've been avoiding updating the blog because Christmas seems like such a daunting entry. I do want to remember and record a great Christmas so I've got to give it a try. You can thank my dad for the phelthora and quality of most of these photos.
I flew down to Utah on the 19th and my parents picked me up at the SLC airport. Since my plane was delayed we hit one of the big storms right at the worst time and it took us hours to get home. I think my dad went 5 mph for about an hour just to get out of Salt Lake. Caleb and I slept a good part of the way. Caleb survived the long drive better than I thought he might. We took a good long break in Nephi for some dinner.
The first thing Caleb was interested in on arriving at my parents house was the pets. Maggie, one of the cats, is the only one that lets him near her. Their two dogs were actually abused by children (we think) with their previous owners and are not good with kids. We have mostly trained Caleb to stay away from them. Luckily my grandparents dog (Tok) is a golden retriever with the typical family friendly personality her breed. However, she is super hyper even though she seven (?) years old. At first she scared Caleb because she is big and out of control then they got to be friends. Caleb still talks about her and whenever he sees pictures of golden retrievers he calls them Tok. While at my parents he learned the names of 3 of the 4 cats. The fourth cat went into hiding an no one saw much of her for our 10 day stay. I don't think Caleb knew she existed (her plan worked). At first Caleb was pretty good with the cats and would pet them and say, "nice." As time went on Caleb got worse instead of better with the animals and near then end all he wanted to do was kick the cats. I have no idea how to really stop this. I've been trying to do time out by holding him if he hits the computer or something (he sneaks up and hits the computer and thinks it's really funny) but it doesn't seem to do much good. Nothing seemed to help with kicking the cats either. Now when he sees a cat he says, "kick." Hopefully this will somehow change over time. In the meantime, the animals at my parents house will not particularly care for toddlers.
Being nice to Maggie.
Playing fetch with Tok.
Very attentive
I hadn't been able to sleep for about three nights before my trip so I actually just slept a lot on Saturday and Sunday. I also wanted to take advantage of being by my mom and Grammy's sewing supplies to work on the presents I am ever so slowly making for David, Mary, and Caleb. (David and Mary are Caleb's cousins.) We mostly hung out until Christmas. Aunt Katie, my sister, drove up from Cedar City where she is going to school on Christmas Eve. She is working as a pharm tech at the Walmart there and wanted to get in a lot of hours over the holidays to help pay for school. It was fun to have her come. However, she got sick, so she also spent a lot of time sleeping at my parents' house and we didn't see a whole lot of her.
Andy was planning on driving down on Christmas Eve as well, but he discovered the firm needed to file something (sorry can't remember then name of it) and it was due by the 26th. It was an oversight of a number of people and Andy figured out that they needed it and stayed to finish it. He go one hour of sleep on Tuesday night and worked like crazy finishing it. He intended to drive down anyway on Christmas Eve but after he'd packed up he laid down on the couch to call me and realized that he really, really needed to sleep. We all agreed and he slept in on Christmas and drove down in the terrible Christmas storm. Luckily we have a Subaru that does wonders in the snow and he was fine. Everyone kept talking to him about how awful the drive had been and later he told me that the drive wasn't bad at all--it was the brief he had to write on Christmas Eve that was much more stressful. We opened presents without him but I saved out our stockings and some other gifts which we opened Friday. Andy had to take a detour to Wells, NV since roads were closed, but he did get to my grandparents, where we were staying, a little after 11:00. I was so glad to see him.
Friday morning Caleb, Andy and I opened our stockings in bed. Caleb was a pro at the present business.
Here are some pictures of some of the presents we opened Christmas morning. We didn't take any pictures of when we opened presents with Andy.
I feel almost like a bad parent for not having bought Caleb a dump truck sooner. Whenever we go to the pediatrician here in Boise, Caleb plays with a dump truck there and doesn't want to leave. I had planned on buying him a dump truck for Christmas, but my sister told my mom that's what she was getting him so he got his beloved dump truck from his Aunt Katie. We opened it first. Katie was so excited for him to open it, she wanted him to open it right after she got to Ephraim. It turned out to be a good idea to open it first because he was entertained with it the rest of the morning.
Caleb learned about ripping and opening really fast. When Andy made it down on Friday he was surprised to hear Caleb tell him to "rip it" while opening presents.
When Andy comes with me to Ephraim, we stay at my grandparents house because there is more room and Andy's allergies act up more at my house because of the cats. While we've been there my Grammy has seen how much Caleb like to manipulate small objects. He has really liked playing with pegs and other things Grammy has made that involve putting objects in small holes. So she made this mountain for him with seven little hikers. We were all astounded at the time and effort she put into it and Caleb does like putting the little hikers in the holes and he also likes the fact that it's hiking a mountain since he really likes hiking in the mountains.
My mom made Caleb a sock monkey. Caleb loves monkeys (and dogs and cats) and found that his monkey fit well in the dump truck.
Opening another good present. My parents bought Caleb this little farm set at IFA. Andy and I thought it was super cool that my parents bought Caleb a gift fr om the Intermountain Farmer's Association. Caleb loves the farm, especially the tractor and played with it tons while we were in Ephraim.
On Saturday we decided to go tubing on a little hill on Snow College's campus. Caleb helped my dad blow up the tube with a pump and thought it was a great new toy. It took a lot of convincing to get him to don his snow gear and take the tube outside.
First run with Dad. The hill was just the right size for a little guy and a tube.
Next run with mom. (Actually I can't remember who went first...) Caleb loved it! Check out the big grins on both of our faces.
Grammy and Caleb.
When Caleb seemed to be getting distressed I tried running alongside him. I also included this picture as a sort of family picture since I didn't think any of ou r family pictures (see end of entry) were all the best of all of us.
After really enjoying some runs down the hill the bell tower (which we were sledding by) chimed 4:00. Caleb was fascinated. He no longer cared for the snow, the sled, any of us--all he had eyes for was the clock. He kept looking at it and saying, "wa tch clock." I thought watching the clock was really boring, but since grandparents love their grandkids so much, my mom and dad took Caleb up to see the clock a little closer. Andy and I stayed behind to sled some more. The clock lost some of its appeal when it wasn't chiming, but Caleb kept looking at it in anticipation. Lucky for him, it chimes every 15 minutes.
Looking very pregnant in these pictures.
Caleb was getting fussy again so Andy thought he'd entertain him by standing at the bottom and jumping out of the way as we got closer. Caleb thought it was very fun and the smile returned.
The following is one of my favorite runs of photos. Andy and I decided to t ry to fit together, but we couldn't sit up because we're too big (and I can only bend so much). Check out Andy's facial expressions. They are priceless. I'm obviously having a great time
Helping. Caleb loves to help and he says, "helping" very proudly. He and Daddy carried the snow tube around and that was as fun as riding it.
This is one of the cutest pictures of Caleb! He was so proud of himself to be on the tube by himself! He had gotten a little fussy, but as soon as we tried letting him go on his own it was us who had to convince him to go home. We would pull him up the hill then let him go down on a less steep part forging new trail and thus going slowly.
We tried to take some family pictures on Sunday, our last day at my parents. Andy wasn't particularly in the mood and Caleb's attention span is only so long, so this is the best we got.
Me getting Caleb ready for pictures
My Dad showed Caleb how to push the button to make the camera take the picture while the camera was on the tripod and Caleb was intrigued with it. We actually have several pictures Caleb took with his Grandad, but this is one of them.
Grandad, Dad, Grammy, Mom and Caleb
This was about the best shot of everyone. In others, some of us look better, but one person is making a funny face--isn't that the way it is?
On Monday, we drove up to Park City and met up with Dave and Ale (Andy's brother and his wife) who were taking a trip for Ale to go skiing for the first time. We bought a sled and went sledding down a hill at a park and then behind the condo. Caleb loved watching the kids at the park and Tio Dave pushed him around on the sled. He didn't like going down the hill as much because snow sprayed in his face on that sled. Then back at the Condo he wouldn't wear his gloves and got cold. I thought it was great fun behind the condo and if any of you are up there in the winter when there's snow, have fun on the hill behind the house.
Tio Dave and Tia Ale on the sled together.
On Monday night we met up with Sam Major, Andy's old roommate (who I knew as well) who is now a chef in a very nice lodge in Park City. Andy's dad said it was funny to hear the story from three perspectives:
Mine: I felt bad that we didn't get to eat a dinner that Ale had thoughtfully prepared because I told her I was intimidated to cook for a chef and after that we both decided it was better to go out.
Dave's: He ate dinner with a guy who cooked for Will Smith. Will Smith is one of Dave's favorite actors. Turns out he has a place in Park City and ate dinner Christmas or Christmas Eve at the lodge where Sam works. Sam has also cooked for a number of other well known people. As a side note, Will Smith's son is allergic to nuts and so as pastry cook Sam and others were extremely careful to keep certain items nut free that night.
Andy's: We met with Sam in a little town called Oakley outside of ParkCity, where Sam is currently living. It was a little diner that Andy found in a magazine in a drawer in Park City and was very proud of his find. The diner was one of those old ones t hat you often see in movies and it had been moved from RI or NJ (can't remember which) out to little Oakley, UT, and is still in great condition. The waitresses all dress a bit like the 50's and the food was excellent and that's coming from a non-burger-lover. Andy was super excited for his mom and dad to go try it out.
After spending the night in Park City, we lolly-gagged in the morning and watched Family Man or something like that. It was funny because in the movie the guy misses Christmas and forgets their anniversary. Andy had missed Christmas and both of us had actually forgotten our anniversary and my Grammy (who we were still staying with the morning of the 29th) was the first to remind us. A quick side note to our night in Park City. I had a hard time sleeping and my back was hurting. I couldn't seem to get comfortable and felt bad for Andy tossing and turning so much so I moved down and slept the rest of the night on the couch. Dave and Ale left early Tuesday morning to go skiing and I'm sure they wondered a t seeing me on the couch the morning after our anniversary. I didn't even bother to explain and just kept laying on the couch savoring the rest before Caleb woke up.
Tuesday afternoon we packed up, left Park City and headed to Highland, Utah, where Andy's best friend Todd and his wife were visiting family. Todd and Erin got married around the same time we did and had a boy a month after Caleb. Todd, Erin, and Andy also all graduated from law school together and have lots to talk about. We were excited to see how our boys would interact. Caleb has watched videos of Joseph on their blog and loved playing with his toys. But, being the 20 month old that he is, he was possessive of everything so they playing we had anticipated turned out to be more of keeping them apart rather than together...
These next pictures are of Caleb playing at our house with blocks my dad made for him. Caleb made a Christmas tree and told me it was a Christmas tree. I was so impressed I got the camera and took a picture and showed Andy when he came home from work. Andy told me he had taught him that. But it was still pretty cute.
Then Caleb and Andy played knock over the blocks and Caleb thought it was really funny to knock them over with his tummy.
I flew down to Utah on the 19th and my parents picked me up at the SLC airport. Since my plane was delayed we hit one of the big storms right at the worst time and it took us hours to get home. I think my dad went 5 mph for about an hour just to get out of Salt Lake. Caleb and I slept a good part of the way. Caleb survived the long drive better than I thought he might. We took a good long break in Nephi for some dinner.
The first thing Caleb was interested in on arriving at my parents house was the pets. Maggie, one of the cats, is the only one that lets him near her. Their two dogs were actually abused by children (we think) with their previous owners and are not good with kids. We have mostly trained Caleb to stay away from them. Luckily my grandparents dog (Tok) is a golden retriever with the typical family friendly personality her breed. However, she is super hyper even though she seven (?) years old. At first she scared Caleb because she is big and out of control then they got to be friends. Caleb still talks about her and whenever he sees pictures of golden retrievers he calls them Tok. While at my parents he learned the names of 3 of the 4 cats. The fourth cat went into hiding an no one saw much of her for our 10 day stay. I don't think Caleb knew she existed (her plan worked). At first Caleb was pretty good with the cats and would pet them and say, "nice." As time went on Caleb got worse instead of better with the animals and near then end all he wanted to do was kick the cats. I have no idea how to really stop this. I've been trying to do time out by holding him if he hits the computer or something (he sneaks up and hits the computer and thinks it's really funny) but it doesn't seem to do much good. Nothing seemed to help with kicking the cats either. Now when he sees a cat he says, "kick." Hopefully this will somehow change over time. In the meantime, the animals at my parents house will not particularly care for toddlers.
Being nice to Maggie.
Playing fetch with Tok.We arrived on Friday and I think it was Saturday when my mom made cookies with Caleb. I thought these pictures were so cute that I just put a ton in. My sister and I had little cooking sets when we were little and my mom hung on to them. He used the little rolling pin to roll out the dough and little cookie cutters for the cookies. He had such a great time. Andy asked about the pink apron and I told him there was a turtle on the front... :)
Very attentive
I hadn't been able to sleep for about three nights before my trip so I actually just slept a lot on Saturday and Sunday. I also wanted to take advantage of being by my mom and Grammy's sewing supplies to work on the presents I am ever so slowly making for David, Mary, and Caleb. (David and Mary are Caleb's cousins.) We mostly hung out until Christmas. Aunt Katie, my sister, drove up from Cedar City where she is going to school on Christmas Eve. She is working as a pharm tech at the Walmart there and wanted to get in a lot of hours over the holidays to help pay for school. It was fun to have her come. However, she got sick, so she also spent a lot of time sleeping at my parents' house and we didn't see a whole lot of her.
Andy was planning on driving down on Christmas Eve as well, but he discovered the firm needed to file something (sorry can't remember then name of it) and it was due by the 26th. It was an oversight of a number of people and Andy figured out that they needed it and stayed to finish it. He go one hour of sleep on Tuesday night and worked like crazy finishing it. He intended to drive down anyway on Christmas Eve but after he'd packed up he laid down on the couch to call me and realized that he really, really needed to sleep. We all agreed and he slept in on Christmas and drove down in the terrible Christmas storm. Luckily we have a Subaru that does wonders in the snow and he was fine. Everyone kept talking to him about how awful the drive had been and later he told me that the drive wasn't bad at all--it was the brief he had to write on Christmas Eve that was much more stressful. We opened presents without him but I saved out our stockings and some other gifts which we opened Friday. Andy had to take a detour to Wells, NV since roads were closed, but he did get to my grandparents, where we were staying, a little after 11:00. I was so glad to see him.
Friday morning Caleb, Andy and I opened our stockings in bed. Caleb was a pro at the present business.
Here are some pictures of some of the presents we opened Christmas morning. We didn't take any pictures of when we opened presents with Andy.
I feel almost like a bad parent for not having bought Caleb a dump truck sooner. Whenever we go to the pediatrician here in Boise, Caleb plays with a dump truck there and doesn't want to leave. I had planned on buying him a dump truck for Christmas, but my sister told my mom that's what she was getting him so he got his beloved dump truck from his Aunt Katie. We opened it first. Katie was so excited for him to open it, she wanted him to open it right after she got to Ephraim. It turned out to be a good idea to open it first because he was entertained with it the rest of the morning.
Caleb learned about ripping and opening really fast. When Andy made it down on Friday he was surprised to hear Caleb tell him to "rip it" while opening presents.
When Andy comes with me to Ephraim, we stay at my grandparents house because there is more room and Andy's allergies act up more at my house because of the cats. While we've been there my Grammy has seen how much Caleb like to manipulate small objects. He has really liked playing with pegs and other things Grammy has made that involve putting objects in small holes. So she made this mountain for him with seven little hikers. We were all astounded at the time and effort she put into it and Caleb does like putting the little hikers in the holes and he also likes the fact that it's hiking a mountain since he really likes hiking in the mountains.
My mom made Caleb a sock monkey. Caleb loves monkeys (and dogs and cats) and found that his monkey fit well in the dump truck.
Opening another good present. My parents bought Caleb this little farm set at IFA. Andy and I thought it was super cool that my parents bought Caleb a gift fr om the Intermountain Farmer's Association. Caleb loves the farm, especially the tractor and played with it tons while we were in Ephraim.
On Saturday we decided to go tubing on a little hill on Snow College's campus. Caleb helped my dad blow up the tube with a pump and thought it was a great new toy. It took a lot of convincing to get him to don his snow gear and take the tube outside.
First run with Dad. The hill was just the right size for a little guy and a tube.
Next run with mom. (Actually I can't remember who went first...) Caleb loved it! Check out the big grins on both of our faces.
Grammy and Caleb.
When Caleb seemed to be getting distressed I tried running alongside him. I also included this picture as a sort of family picture since I didn't think any of ou r family pictures (see end of entry) were all the best of all of us.
After really enjoying some runs down the hill the bell tower (which we were sledding by) chimed 4:00. Caleb was fascinated. He no longer cared for the snow, the sled, any of us--all he had eyes for was the clock. He kept looking at it and saying, "wa tch clock." I thought watching the clock was really boring, but since grandparents love their grandkids so much, my mom and dad took Caleb up to see the clock a little closer. Andy and I stayed behind to sled some more. The clock lost some of its appeal when it wasn't chiming, but Caleb kept looking at it in anticipation. Lucky for him, it chimes every 15 minutes.
Looking very pregnant in these pictures.
Caleb was getting fussy again so Andy thought he'd entertain him by standing at the bottom and jumping out of the way as we got closer. Caleb thought it was very fun and the smile returned.
The following is one of my favorite runs of photos. Andy and I decided to t ry to fit together, but we couldn't sit up because we're too big (and I can only bend so much). Check out Andy's facial expressions. They are priceless. I'm obviously having a great time
Helping. Caleb loves to help and he says, "helping" very proudly. He and Daddy carried the snow tube around and that was as fun as riding it.
This is one of the cutest pictures of Caleb! He was so proud of himself to be on the tube by himself! He had gotten a little fussy, but as soon as we tried letting him go on his own it was us who had to convince him to go home. We would pull him up the hill then let him go down on a less steep part forging new trail and thus going slowly.
We tried to take some family pictures on Sunday, our last day at my parents. Andy wasn't particularly in the mood and Caleb's attention span is only so long, so this is the best we got.
Me getting Caleb ready for pictures
My Dad showed Caleb how to push the button to make the camera take the picture while the camera was on the tripod and Caleb was intrigued with it. We actually have several pictures Caleb took with his Grandad, but this is one of them.
Grandad, Dad, Grammy, Mom and Caleb
This was about the best shot of everyone. In others, some of us look better, but one person is making a funny face--isn't that the way it is?
On Monday, we drove up to Park City and met up with Dave and Ale (Andy's brother and his wife) who were taking a trip for Ale to go skiing for the first time. We bought a sled and went sledding down a hill at a park and then behind the condo. Caleb loved watching the kids at the park and Tio Dave pushed him around on the sled. He didn't like going down the hill as much because snow sprayed in his face on that sled. Then back at the Condo he wouldn't wear his gloves and got cold. I thought it was great fun behind the condo and if any of you are up there in the winter when there's snow, have fun on the hill behind the house.
Tio Dave and Tia Ale on the sled together.
On Monday night we met up with Sam Major, Andy's old roommate (who I knew as well) who is now a chef in a very nice lodge in Park City. Andy's dad said it was funny to hear the story from three perspectives:Mine: I felt bad that we didn't get to eat a dinner that Ale had thoughtfully prepared because I told her I was intimidated to cook for a chef and after that we both decided it was better to go out.
Dave's: He ate dinner with a guy who cooked for Will Smith. Will Smith is one of Dave's favorite actors. Turns out he has a place in Park City and ate dinner Christmas or Christmas Eve at the lodge where Sam works. Sam has also cooked for a number of other well known people. As a side note, Will Smith's son is allergic to nuts and so as pastry cook Sam and others were extremely careful to keep certain items nut free that night.
Andy's: We met with Sam in a little town called Oakley outside of ParkCity, where Sam is currently living. It was a little diner that Andy found in a magazine in a drawer in Park City and was very proud of his find. The diner was one of those old ones t hat you often see in movies and it had been moved from RI or NJ (can't remember which) out to little Oakley, UT, and is still in great condition. The waitresses all dress a bit like the 50's and the food was excellent and that's coming from a non-burger-lover. Andy was super excited for his mom and dad to go try it out.
After spending the night in Park City, we lolly-gagged in the morning and watched Family Man or something like that. It was funny because in the movie the guy misses Christmas and forgets their anniversary. Andy had missed Christmas and both of us had actually forgotten our anniversary and my Grammy (who we were still staying with the morning of the 29th) was the first to remind us. A quick side note to our night in Park City. I had a hard time sleeping and my back was hurting. I couldn't seem to get comfortable and felt bad for Andy tossing and turning so much so I moved down and slept the rest of the night on the couch. Dave and Ale left early Tuesday morning to go skiing and I'm sure they wondered a t seeing me on the couch the morning after our anniversary. I didn't even bother to explain and just kept laying on the couch savoring the rest before Caleb woke up.
Tuesday afternoon we packed up, left Park City and headed to Highland, Utah, where Andy's best friend Todd and his wife were visiting family. Todd and Erin got married around the same time we did and had a boy a month after Caleb. Todd, Erin, and Andy also all graduated from law school together and have lots to talk about. We were excited to see how our boys would interact. Caleb has watched videos of Joseph on their blog and loved playing with his toys. But, being the 20 month old that he is, he was possessive of everything so they playing we had anticipated turned out to be more of keeping them apart rather than together...
These next pictures are of Caleb playing at our house with blocks my dad made for him. Caleb made a Christmas tree and told me it was a Christmas tree. I was so impressed I got the camera and took a picture and showed Andy when he came home from work. Andy told me he had taught him that. But it was still pretty cute.
Then Caleb and Andy played knock over the blocks and Caleb thought it was really funny to knock them over with his tummy.
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